Makaibari recalls its nationalist heritage while releasing special tea blend on I-Day

PRASHANT ACHARYA, EOI, SILIGURI, AUGUST 14, 2023 :  A rare unique flavor, exactly as old as independent India, is all set to brew in your teapot. Makaibari - the heritage tea estate nestled in the misty mountains of the Himalayas, has a special collector's item for you to commemorate India's 77th year of independence - Verleni 1947. 

This special blend of limited-edition tea - to be available from midnight of August 14 -- comes from some of the oldest tea bushes in the Makaibari gardens that were actually planted in 1947. Interestingly, Makaibari is owned by the Luxmi Group - a company started over 100 years ago by freedom fighter PC Chatterjee who used tea as an instrument of defiance against the British as India’s movement of self- reliance. Verleni 1947 is harvested from Chinese tea bushes with a strong Muscatel, floral, and fruity flavor, one of the finest examples of Darjeeling tea. MD, Luxmi Group Rudra Chatterjee said on Monday: "Makaibari was always a Swadeshi tea - a Darjeeling estate that was never under British ownership and now owned by Luxmi Tea, a company started as a tool for Satyagraha whose founders were members of the Anushilan Party". 

He added:" My grandfather was a freedom fighter. He founded this company as a tool for atyagraha. However, the first tea estate was not in British India but it was founded on the land which belonged to the Maharaja of Tripura and he started promoting the tea from this estate as Swadeshi Tea". PC Chatterjee began to cultivate tea independently, without management agencies or advisors from London. 

Assamese and Bengali freedom fighters and students who also rebelled against the British rule joined Luxmi which was then referred to as Indian Tea and Provisions. Atul Rastogi, CEO of Luxmi Tea said Verlini 47 had a planted tea area of 3.64 ha in 1947. Makaibari's planted tea area however in total is around 240.18 ha. 

"Chinery bushes carry the true character of Darjeeling tea. 

It grows as multiple branches and stems. With governmental backing, Dr A Campbell established tea nurseries in Darjeeling and Kurseong in the 1800s. Tea seeds were smuggled out of China, and plants from these stocks thrived in Darjeeling’s misty, high- elevation climate. It is also said that China tea seeds from the Kumaun region were brought to raise the first nursery. 

The Company began to propagate plants for individuals and small companies, opening up land and clearing plots for tea gardens," Rastogi says, adding that only 1000 packs of the limited edition Verleni 1947 will be available for true tea connoisseurs from Aug 15”. 

Rastogi added "The weather this monsoon has been favorable due to less precipitation than previous years. The quality has been very good till early August – the second flush character persisted and will be a real treat for tea lovers across the globe. It will be available only in India through online portals, at the Airport store, and at company counters". 

Luxmi Group today is one of the largest tea producers in India and produces around 30 million kilograms of tea annually. There are more than 20,000 workers working with Luxmi Group. Makaibari - the world's first tea factory dating back to 1859 is spread across 1400 acres of plantation - half of which is a verdant rainforest. 

In 1988 it was the first garden to be awarded/ certified as a fully organic tea garden and thereafter the first to get Biodynamic DEMETER certification in 1993 along with fair trade certification. Makaibari produces around one lakh kg of tea annually.